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Thursday, June 12, 2008

Barf bag, anyone?

I think I put the nail in the coffin today as far as riding the bus goes. I was one stop from hurling all over the floor. Every turn, every bump, every pothole, every stop sign, every slight move seemed designed to make me ill. I could taste it, I could feel it coming. I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated on making it to my stop. Then I rushed down the bus steps and walked as slowly as possible, breathing deeply of the fresh air. The nausea didn't fade for at least the first hour of class.

I was so traumatized that I refused to ride the bus back to my office after class. Instead I tightened the shoulder straps on my backpack, buckled the waist and chest straps and put up my hair. I would walk it! The flat parts were mostly pleasant with occasional shade, but when I turned to start up the big, long hill the shade vanished. I was sweating profusely, and I could feel my face turn into the tomato it usually reserves for lawn mowing. Black pants in the bright sun weren't helping. I plugged on, stopping only once to take a quick swig of water.

I finally got to my building and was thankful for the AC, something I usually dislike. Forty minutes, door-to-door, walking at a pretty good clip. I'm not sure walking it twice a day in summer is practical, especially since my July class is held several blocks further down the hill. I got blisters on both feet, as I was wearing my Tevas for only the second time this season. And I can't promise I didn't smell during my afternoon meeting.

At least I don't have to worry about it for tomorrow, but it will take a lot to convince me to get back on that bus.

7 comments:

BerryBird said...

I yakked on a city bus once as a kid (into a paper lunch sack). Definitely an unpleasant experience. You weren't trying to read again, were you?

Smellyann said...

Oh, you poor thing. I got tuckered out and nauseous just reading that. Don't sweat it - you tried!

Momma Val said...

Oh no! How awful. I think there are some tricks to avoid motion sickness like that. Where you sit and what direction you face makes a big difference. May try Googling. I don't get carsick like that anymore but if I sit facing the wrong direction or try to read or move around alot when the car is turning I start to get VERY dizzy. I hate it. I'd Google for some help. Thank God you didn't puke on the bus.

Coffeypot said...

Was it the bus or is congratulations due?

a friend said...

I feel for you! My husband is the only one in our family of five that does not suffer from motion sickness. He just does not understand how awful it can be. Although he has cleaned up many hurls in the car during summer vacations.

Stacy said...

Sorry to hear your bus experience isn't too great so far. That stinks.

I found this on one of the other blogs I read...Rules of Thumb...

"If you are prone to car or bus travel sickness, look out preferably forward, and do not read. Car sickness happens because your brain gets confused by the discrepancy in information coming in from your eyes and your motion sensing. When both information stream match there is no travel sickness."

http://rulesofthumb.org/


It has helped out a coworker who got carsick on the bus - I don't think she has felt bad since.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

I used to bus a lot but was lucky in that I never got sick.

Hope you find a solution.